The Ball
by ybboy69
Summary: Just come read it...
1. Prologue: Death Of A Champion

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or the places. It's all Nintendo's.**_

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It was a beautiful night to be out in the seemingly neverending plains of Kanto. Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock were on their way to take Pikachu to the Smasher's Ball which was to be hosted at the Smash Mansion. Ash had recieved a message from Professor Oak, a day ago, to ensure that Pikachu was at the Smasher's Ball in 2 days, which meant they had to arrive at the Smash Mansion by tomorrow. They were currently crossing through the Far Plains which would lead them to a sea, where they will take a special cruise boat to a remote island where the Smash Mansion is located.

"I'm getting tired of walking. Can we make camp here?", Misty asked as she yawned.

"It is getting kind of late, Ash," Brock added.

"Alright, fine. We'll make camp," Ash said as he dropped his bag.

"Pika, Pika!!!"

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He looked down from the giant dogwood that stood by itself in the middle of the plains. The shadow of the night was watching his unsuspected prey, as they slept in the plains below.

There was 4 of them, 2 boys (a pale-skinned one and a dark skinned one), a girl, and his target.

The target, the girl, and the pale-skinned boy were asleep, but the dark-skinned one was up, cleaning up the dinner they had ate 30 minutes ago.

"Fall asleep or I'll have to kill you as well, dark one", the shadow muttered to himself.

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Brock busied himself cleaning up the leftovers from their supper. He was well-aware that he was being watched by something, using the giant dogwood in the distance as cover. He had almost woke the others up, but thought better of it, knowing that if he tried something like that he would only provoke his stalker. Brock knew he and his friends were sitting ducks. It was only a matter of time before the predator striked.

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The dark-skinned one was determined to stay up all night, engaging in meaningless activities such as cleaning pots and pans, washing his clothes in the oasis where they had camped out at, and eating the rest of the leftovers when he was obviously full. This could only mean one thing, that the humanoid was well aware of his presence. The shadow grasped his arm, where a sword protruded where his hand was susposed to be.

"The time is now," the creature said jumping straight into the air. He laughed to himself as the dark-skinned boy watched in horror.

"Run, fool..."

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Brock was left in awe as his stalker went airborne, giving away his cover. It seemed to be floating now at the height of it's jump. Whatever it was, it looked human, though he could not make out anything under the darkness of the night.

"Jesus Christ!!!", Brock turned around and went to wake up the others when he felt a warm breathe on the back of his neck.

"Don't move or I'll kill you", it whispered into his ear. "And if you scream...", it snickered to itself almost as if was a joke.

"What do you want?", Brock asked hesistantly.

"The rat... that's why I'm here."

"Huh", Brock said gazing at Pikachu's sleeping body.

"Listen to me, boy, if you want to live. I want you to walk towards the water hole until you are knee-deep in water. When you are that deep, you can turn around and face towards me. Turn around any sooner than that and I'll have to kill you. Begin walking," he ordered.

Brock began walking towards the oasis. He walked in a straight line over his friends' resting bodies. A tear dropped down his face as he couldn't hold back the tears. He didn't know what was going to happen to his friends...or to him, for that matter. Brock tuned out the rest of the world as he began his descent into the oasis. He walked step by step, moment by moment until he was knee-deep in water.

He didn't turn around at first. He stood there, in the cool waters of the oasis, praying to God that he wouldn't turn around to face something he would later regret ever seeing. Brock clinched his jaw and balled his hands up to fight back the fear, as he spun around to see what had happened to his friends.

He screamed.

Pikachu, or at least what remained of him, was in pieces all over his remaining 2 friends. Pikachu's blood was strewed all over the grassy floor of the plains, turning the blades of the glass red. The shadow was nowhere to be spotted.

Ash stirred in his sleep and looked at Brock, still half-asleep. Misty also stirred and rolled over and awoke, only to lock eyes with Pikachu's detached head.

"Oh...my...gawd!!!!!"

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_**Review**_


	2. The Day Before The Ball

_**So here we are...the story actually begins...i tried to explain what happened in the prologue but there isn't any fighting in this chapter, it's coming next chapter. Enjoy**_

_**Disclaimer**__**: I don't own Nintendo or it's characters.**_

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Master Hand sat in his office at Smash Mansion filling out release forms and finishing medication forms. He had worked all year for this, to put together, organize and host the first ever "Smasher's Ball". It would partly be a tournament and partly a "convention" between Smashers, young and old. It was something that Master was truly proud of. He had updated the Super Smash Stadium over the past year to prepare for the weeklong 'Smash-a-thon'. Their was to be parties, meetings, everything . . . Master had truly worked hard to show his employees how much he enjoyed their dedication to the League. He even booked the weeklong tournament to be hosted on major channels such as ESPN and ABC. He turned his attention back to overlooking one of Dr. Mario's prescription to one of his Smashers, when someone began knocking on his office door.

"Come in."

His brother, Crazy Hand, walked in with a sour look on his face.

"What's the matter with you, Crazy?"

"You have some interesting visitors that would like to see you . . . . immediately."

"Who are they?"

"I think you should come downstairs and see for yourself, brother", Crazy said more like a command.

Master Hand rose out of his chair at his desk and exited his office. He followed Crazy downstairs into the lobby where three teenagers he had never seen before were waiting , two boys and a girl. The girl was crying silently to herself, while the 2 boys stared blankly in front of them. Crazy stopped his brother before he entered the lobby and began whispering in his ear.

"Do you know who these kids are?"

"No, I don't."

"They're the ones who travel with Pikachu back at his home land, in Kanto."

"Oh ok '', he looked around the lobby for the oversized, yellow rodent. "Where is Pikachu?"

". . . He's dead . . . "

Master Hand backed up from his brother for a minute and stared at him, shocked. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, one of his original Smashers was dead. Just like that Pikachu was gone, _poof_.

"But . . . how?"

"They don't know."

Master Hand walked into the lobby and sat down at the chair across from the teenagers who were seated on the couch. Master observed the three teenagers, moving from left to right. The boy with the hat rested his head in his hands. The other boy, who sat in the middle, picked at something under his nail, while the girl was curled up on the couch with her legs up, resting her chin in the gap formed by her knees.

"Hello, I'm Master Hand, the president of the Super Smash Brothers League. May I ask what your names are?"

The girl spoke first. "I'm Misty."

"I'm Brock."

"Ash", said the one on the far left without even raising his head from his hands.

"Ok then, Ash, Brock and Misty . . . will one of you like to explain to me and my brother, Crazy" motioning for his brother to join them, "what exactly happened?"

"None of us know . . . . we were all asleep when it happened", Misty replied.

Master noticed how Brock shifted his eyes suddenly when Misty stated this. Master Hand could easily tell when someone was nervous or lying to him, which made him feel uneasy. He looked toward his brother, who nodded, obviously he had saw Brock's reaction, as well.

"Where were you at when this . . . . ordeal occured?" Crazy Hand asked.

"In the eastern region of the Far Plains", Misty answered.

"We were on our way here, Mr. Hand", Brock added nervously.

Master Hand noticed that Ash had yet to speak directly to anyone, which made him fear for the young boy's mental health.

"Ash, would you like something to drink?", Master asked.

"No."

"How about something to eat?", Crazy added.

"No", still not raising his head up.

Master Hand gestured for Crazy to head to his office, while he rose from the chair he was seated in. He frowned thinking about what the other Smashers would think when he gave them this bad news.

"I know you all must be going through a lot of pain right now . . . we all are. But we will find out who did this . . . in the meantime, you three are welcome to stay in my suites for as long as you like."

"Thank you, Mr. Hand", Misty said.

"You three should rest . . . I'll have my maids ready your beds for you." And at that three maids appeared and headed towards the Suite Wing of the Smash Mansion. "If you need anything let one them know, that's what they're paid for." Misty smiled at Master's comment.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Hand", Misty said kindly.

"No problem", and with that Master Hand left the three in the lobby and went to join his brother in his office.

When he arrived at his office, his brother was messing around with Master's pet, turtle.

"What do you think, Crazy?", Master said sprawling out on his black leather couch.

"I think they're not telling us the full story."

"And about Brock . . .?"

"He's definitely hiding something from us."

"I don't understand, why would they deliberately lie to us, if we're trying to help them."

"Good question . . . maybe they're trying to cover something up."

"What's that mean?"

"Maybe one of them had something to do with Pikachu's death but their friends want to cover for them."

"So if that's the case, who did it?"

"Brock, of course."

"Yes, as of now all fingers point to him, but we don't have any solid evidence saying that he has anything to do with Pikachu's death so let's not go around pointing fingers just yet."

"That would be for the best, brother"

"Crazy . . . "

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to help me find this bastard?"

"Of course''

"Because something tells me he isn't done"

"Huh??"

"What if Pikachu was just the beginning?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if he's on this island and he's going to kill someone else?"

"Impossible. We have the most advanced security system in this corner of the universe, only Smashers are allowed on this island."

"What if he is a Smasher?"

Crazy paused what he was doing with the turtle, thought about it, and then resumed his previous engagement.

"Why would any one of the Smashers want to kill Pikachu?"

"I don't know, to get them out of the tournament, I guess."

"Well, Master, I trust every single one of the Smashers with my life . . . it's those three teenagers who's the cause of this problem."

"Hmph . . . . . how many Smashers have arrived?'', Master said, changing the subject.

"Seven have arrived."

"Good, I think I'll go have a short meeting with the ones that are here . . ."

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Ness, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Zelda, Link and Ganondorf were all in the Entertainment Lounge engaging in numerous activities. Ganondorf and Bowser were playing pool, while Ness, Luigi and Link were playing the game that was based on them, "Super Smash Bros. Melee." The two princesses were watching their favorite soap opera, "Days of Our Lives'', on the opposite television set. Master Hand walked into the lounge and clapped his hands three times to get everyone's attention.

"Hey Smashers, I need to speak with you about a very serious matter." Everyone turned their attention towards Master Hand except Bowser and Ganondorf, who continued to play pool. "Could I have your attentions, as well, Bowser and Ganon. They muttered under their breathes, but gave Master hand their attentions.

"Thank you." Master Hand pulled over a foldable chair and sat down in it, crossing his legs and clamping his hands together. "There is a very important matter at hand, Smashers. One of your fellow employees . . . and a dear friend has been murdered during his journey here."

"Who?", Zelda asked hesistantly not really wanting to know.

"The hero of Kanto, Pikachu."

"Oh my gawd!!" Everyone sat in silence for a moment before Master Hand continued.

"What happened to him?", Luigi asked.

"I don't know"

"Do you know who killed him?", Link asked.

"No, we don't know that either."

"What _DO _you know?", Link asked becoming irratated.

"That he's dead", Master Hand becoming just as equally irratated.

"Pikachu's dead?!?", Ness cried just now having truly listened to what Hand was talking about. Pikachu was Ness' best friend and he was gone now. Zelda stroked gently on his back

"His close friends will be staying with us for a while, so do NOT and I repeat DO NOT become a nuisance to them or I will see to it that you are punished . . . severely. That is all, for now." And with that Master Hand got up and left, leaving the Smashers to their own thoughts.

Bowser and Ganon shrugged it off and continued to play pool. The others went to comfort Ness who began to cry.

"Now, Now, Ness", Peach said, "It'll be alright. Pikachu is happy now. He's gone to a better place."

"Yeah, a better place, but that's if you consider Hell a vacation destination", Bowser cut in snickering. Ganondorf gave him a hi-five joining in on his cruel laughter.

"Shut the fuck up", Link muttered to them.

"Fuck up . . . yep, that's what Pikachu is, fucked up", Ganondorf laughed.

"Can't you guys show _SOME _ respect for the dead?", Zelda asked.

"I'm not _mexican_", Bowser snickered.

"You guys are going to rot in Hell", Luigi said.

"Whoops . . it looks like Pikachu beat us to it", Bowser snickered.

"Seriously guys . . . ", Zelda begged.

"Ok, ok, we're done." Ganondorf walked over to Ness and patted him on the shoulder to get his attention. Ness looked up at him still crying.

"Aya, Ness . . . stop crying. WHAT A MINUTE!! I know what'll cheer you up!! I'll get Pikachu to come and . . . oh damn, that's right. He's dead isn't he . . . " Link pushed Ganondorf back who erupted in laughter along with his tyrannical partner, Bowser.

At that moment, Fox, Falco, Samus and Captain Falcon walk into the room, confused by why Ness was crying and why Bowser and Ganondorf were laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?", Samus asked in an impatient tone.

"Pikachu's death, evidently", Link said dryily.

"Huh . . . . oh o.k, I see what you mean", Samus said in a casual tone as she walked over to Ganon and Bowser who were still laughing. She unstrapped two grenades from her belt and shoved them into each of their mouths, where the pin was stuck between their teeth and the body of the grenade on the inside of their heads, so that when they opened their mouths, the bombs would detonate.

"You guys don't have much to say now, do you?", Link teased.

Bowser and Ganon ran to Dr. Mario's to get some help while the newly arrived Smashers aided in calming Ness down. They tried everything, but nothing would work into Fox gave him the opportunity to do something he's always wanted to do.

"Come on Ness, if you calm down, I'll let you pilot my Arwing around the island", Fox bribed.

"Really??", Ness said, his face brightening.

"Of course, come on", Fox said over-zealously. Fox grabbed Ness' hand and exitted the Entertainment Lounge.

After waiting a couple of moments to ensure that Fox and Ness were out of hearing distance, Falco, Samus and Captain Falcon sat down so they could discuss the topic at hand.

"So, does anyone know exactly what happened to Pikachu?'', Samus asked.

"Not really . . . except that he was killed on his way here", Peach answered.

"And his friends are staying here, too", Zelda added.

"Do they know anything?", Captain Falcon asked.

"We don't know, we haven't even seen them. Master Hand just walked in here a while ago and told us that Pikachu was killed and they were staying here for awhile", Link stated.

"So Pikachu is on his way to partcipate in a tournament and is murdered. That makes you wonder . . .", Samus drifted off.

"What are you getting at Samus?", Link asked.

"Don't you think it's kind of odd that Pikachu wasn't killed until he tried to come here."

"Huh"

"Look, what if the killer is someone who's competing in the tournament and wanted to get Pikachu out of the picture."

"Why Pikachu?", Luigi wanted to know.

"I don't know. Pikachu could be just the beginning of it. Maybe he or she wants to get rid of all of the other competitors"

"So in all rationality, the killer could be sitting down with us right now", Falco blurted out.

Everyone grew quiet and looked amongst each other, exchanging nervous stares and anxious looks. What if the killer was in the room with them right now, pretending to be their friend until they're not looking . . . .

"We're blowing this way out of proportion. We don't have any evidence saying that someone in this room . . .or in this tournament killed Pikachu", Peach said.

"But still, you have to consider the possibilities . . . until we know otherwise, just keep a cautious eye out", Samus warned.

"Good idea", Falco agreed as the other Smashers nodded their heads in agreement.

Just then Mario came running in the Entertainment Lounge sweating heavily and out of breathe.

"Hey brother, when did you get here?", Luigi asked cheerfully.

"No _gasp gasp _time", Mario managed to say.

"What's wrong?'', Peach asked.

"It's Fox. . . . . . . he's in trouble!!"

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_**Well that's the end for Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it.**_


	3. Roulette: Destinies Chosen

_**Disclaimer**_**: I don't own Nintendo or Sega or anything that has to do with them. The plotline and the characters: Cyrus and Salamandro are mine.**

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Shadow the Hedgehog sat in the Dining Hall, opposite of the Entertainment Lounge. There were no lights on in the room and the only source of light came from the doorway that led to the Entertainment Lounge, where Master Hand annouced Pikachu's death.

Shadow had been the first to arrive at the mansion though noone knew of his presence. In fact, Shadow wasn't even invited to the tournament by Master Hand, but by Sonic who _had_ recieved an invitation. Shadow was quick on arriving because he used a string of Chaos Control, forming a sort of portal, which made him pop-up in this Dining Hall. He had decided then, that he would not let himself be seen until Sonic had arrived. Apparently, after listening to Master Hand little annoucement and watching Mario storm into the Lounge like that, it would appear that they had enough problems already.

The ones in the Entertainment Lounge had left awhile ago after Mario came in saying that the Fox had crashed his ship into the jungle on the east side of the island. It was weird. First, the warrior they called Pikachu had been killed, then this Fox guy just crashed his ship into a jungle. Not to mention the little boy that was in the aircraft with him, as well. It seemed that violence and death was in the air like love on Valentine's Day.

All of a sudden, the Dining Hall lights flickered on. Shadow calmly looked around the room to see how the lights had came on, only to see a red-haired girl with a yellow shirt and blue jean shorts standing at the door that was facing towards Shadow's back. It appeared to Shadow that she (whoever she was) had just finished crying. She stepped through the doorway and sat down at the long, narrow table in the center of the room.

She smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Misty. What's your name?"

Shadow turned completely around towards Misty. "I'm Shadow." Their was no sense in trying to remain anonymous, now that she had seen him.

"That's a cool name. Where are you from?"

"I don't have an actual place of origin. I'm a bit of a wanderer. And you?"

"I'm from Kanto."

Shadow thought about it for a moment. Where had he heard of this Kanto? Then he remembered, that Kanto was where that dead Original was from. Pikachu? Yeah, that was his name.

Misty eyes began to fill with water.

"I don't mean to pry, but what's wrong?" Shadow asked a little tense.

"Nothing really, it's just that my friend was . . ." She stopped, choking on her words. Then she began to cry.

Shadow was confused about what he should do. He couldn't stand here and let her cry like that, but he couldn't just walk out like he did when Amy was having one of her little fits. He rose from his chair and walked over to Misty and began to gently rub on her back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

Misty wiped her face with a napkin that was on the table. "No, no. It wasn't you." She got up from the table and looked down on Shadow for a moment.

"Are you okay now, Miss Misty?"

"Yeah, I feel better. Thanks for keeping me company, Shadow." She reached down and wrapped her arms tightly around the hedgehog before she walked out the door.

Shadow went out the other doorway, in the direction of where the others had ran earlier. He needed to speak with Master Hand.

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Link, Zelda, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Falco, Samus, and Captain Falcon stood quietly in the middle of the Hospital Wing's Lobby (because their were no chairs to sit in) along with Master Hand and Crazy Hand. At that moment, Dr. Mario was operating on Fox who had just crashed his ship in the jungle. Ness, who was co-piloting during Fox's little joyride, was reduced to ashes when the Arwing's main engines exploded. Little was none about Fox's current condition except that he was burned severely and had broken a lot of bones when he crashed. It was a wonder that the Wire Frames had even pulled Fox's limp body from the wreckage. And they had done so quickly, loading him into the back of Dr. Mario's jeep and bringing him to the E.R for emergency surgery.

At that moment, a blue animal-like creature wearing only gloves and running shoes walked in with a wide grin on his face. Everyone looked towards him, confused about who he was.

Master Hand smiled at him and motioned for him to stand by him. The blue animal walked over beside Master Hand, who put his hand on the blue animal's shoulder.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet one of the newcomer's, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Everyone said hey and introduced themselves to Sonic giving minor descriptions about themselves. After the greetings were done, everyone grew quiet. After a couple of minutes, Sonic grew the nerve to ask Master Hand what was wrong with everyone. Master Hand whispered in Sonic's ear about Pikachu's death then about The Arwing Incident.

"Damn," was Sonic's only reply. He waited another minute then asked Master Hand when the tournament would begin.

"The Roulette's today and the first two matches are today."

"What's the Roulette?"

"It decides randomly where you will be in the Smasher's Ball bracket."

"Ohhh."

Dr. Mario walked into the room with a smile on his face.

"Is he gonna live?" Falco blurted out as soon as Dr. Mario entered the room. He was impatient and wanted to know his best friend's health.

"Better. The operation was a success. He was dead when we got him in here, but I brought him back and did some work on his heart and wrapped him real nicely. And due to his abnormal healing rate, he should be able to fight in the tournament if he is dead last on the first round brackets."

Everyone started laughing and joking around with each other. Sonic smiled, too. He didn't know who this Fox was exactly, but it was good to see the Smasher's 'come back to life'.

"Can we go see him?" Zelda asked.

"No, not right now. We are going to save visitation until tomorrow. Right now, he needs his rest."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. Now that we all know that Fox's going to make it, let's call all the Smashers to the Smashateria. Everyone who is coming has arrived by now."

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Every Smasher (excluding Fox and Ness) were seated in a seat out in the audience and Master Hand and Crazy Hand stood on the stage in front of them. A giant computer screen stood behind them as they waited for everyone to find their seats. There was 24 Smashers that had come to the Ball: Shadow, Roy, the Ice Climbers (they count as 1), Wario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Zelda, Link, Sonic, Kirby, Metaknight, Ganondorf, Fox, Falco, Samus, Captain Falcon, Mario, Marth, Yoshi, Mewtwo, Solid Snake, Cyrus, and Salamandro. Once they were all seated, Master Hand began his speech.

"Welcome Smashers, to the first annual 'Smasher's Ball'. I've done a lot of work this past year to make this event as special as humanly possible. As I speak right now, we are being broadcasted live on all the major networks. "

Master Hand stood there for a minute before he was nudged by his brother to start the Roulette.

"Alright, I guess it's time to start the Roulette." He turned around towards the giant computer and started to type in names and add them to a program called, 'Smash Roulette.' He added Fox's name on the very last bracket before he hit the randomize button.

Everyone waited while the machine randomly placed names into brackets. When the Roulette was done, the Smasher's Ball brackets were as followed:

1.) Roy

2.) Falco

3.) Metaknight

4.) Shadow

5.) Link

6.) Mario

7.) Yoshi

8.) Mewtwo

9.) Ganondorf

10.) Wario

11.) The Ice Climbers

12.) Samus

13.) Bowser

14.) Luigi

15.) Kirby

16.) Sonic

17.) Salamandro

18.) Zelda

19.) Marth

20.) Solid Snake

21.) Captain Falcon

22.) Cyrus

23.) Peach

24.) Fox

"There you have it folks. The spots have been chosen. Spot number 1 will fight spot number 2, spot number 3 will fight spot number 4, and so on. That is how the twelve matches in the first round will be fought. Now, it's time for me to state the rules and regulations. Rule #1: No fighting outside your scheduled matches. If you do so, you will be ejected from the island. Rule #2: You can't kill your opponent. When your opponent is knocked off the stage far enough, he will explode leading him either back to the stage on an Angel Pad or teleport them to the Match Area once they are out of stocks. That's it for the rules. Also, when we go to the Match Area we will flip a coin. The higher numbered Smasher gets to call it. If they call it right, they get to choose their arena. If they lose their opponent gets to choose the arena." Master Hand looked back at the computer screen." The first two matches will take place tonight in about 5 minutes. Falco, Metaknight, Shadow, and Link, follow me to the Match Area. Everyone else can go over to the Entertainment Lounge."

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**Review**


	4. Revelations

**Okay well here is the fourth chapter. **

_**Disclaimer**_**: I own notta except Cyrus, Salamandro, and the plotline. The others belong to Nintendo and Sega.**

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Fox was sitting up in his hospital bed, watching the television set on the wall. He had just finished watching the Roulette and was waiting for the commercials to go off and for the first fight, between Roy and Falco to begin.

He laid back in the bed and began to ponder about what had happened earlier when he was flying the Arwing. He should've checked the plane for malfunctions, but he didn't think that anything could've gone wrong. Not anything like the main engines exploding. And because of his error, it had cost Ness his life.

A tear rolled down his cheek. Poor Ness. Why did Death choose to take him instead of Fox? Ness was so young . . .

"It's time to begin the first match of the Smasher's Ball." The annoucer on the television said. "Roy will face Falco Lombardi. We will now take you to the Match Area for the coin toss."

Fox looked up at the t.v. "Falco . . . "

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Falco, Roy, Metaknight, Shadow, and Master Hand stood in a small room with a couple of chairs and two machines shaped into pods. The room was mostly dark except for the camera lights, the t.v crew had jammed in there.

"Since Roy is #1, he gets to call the coin. Heads or tails??" Master Hand said.

"Tails."

Master Hand flipped the silver quarter. He caught it in midair and slapped it on the backside of his other hand.

"It's heads. Falco, choose the arena you will battle at. Remember, you can go anywhere you want to go."

"Ummm . . . " Falco thought about it for a moment. "I know!! Let's fight on top of the Great Fox . . . while it's traveling through space."

"Very well, Falco step into the pod on the left, Roy to the right."

The Smashers walked to their designated pods. Once they were inside, Master Hand went over to a switch on the wall and flipped, making the combantants disappear.

Master Hand turned towards the remaining two Smashers.

"When they are done, you two will have your battle. Until then sit here and wait." And with that, Master Hand walked out the room, leaving the two by themselves.

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Sonic sat with all the other Smashers in the Entertainment Lounge and watched as Roy and Falco floated down on small platforms, towards their stage, which was a giant ship flying through space. The two dropped from their platforms and landed on the top of the ship.

"GO!!!" An unknown voice said.

Roy charged towards Falco, drawing his sword. Falco calmly drew his blaster and began unloading rounds into Roy's body, which only seemed to anger the young swordsman. Falco fired his last shot and began to reload his blaster, but was to slow as Roy got close enough to strike Falco with his sword, causing an explosion, sending Falco over the tail and unto the small loading dock at the back of the ship. Roy ran and jumped down onto Falco's fallen body and struck him again with his sword, sending Falco's body in the reverse direction, slamming him against the tail and back to the loading dock's floor.

Roy laughed to himself. "I never knew how easy this would be."

Falco brought himself to his knees and looked up at his opponent. "Don't get your hopes up. I haven't even began to show you what I can do." As he finished his statement, he began to glow a bright, fiery red.

"What are you doing?" Roy said as he began to strike Falco again.

But he was too slow . . . "FIRE FALCO!!!" Falco screamed as he exploded flying into Roy, sending Roy back over the tail to the top of the ship. Falco followed him to the top of the ship, stopping at the end of the tail.

"You . . . BASTARD!!!" Roy screamed as he pulled himself up and rushed Falco again.

Falco started laughing. "Bye Bye . . . "

"What is he laughing about?" Roy thought to himself. He would soon find out. Halfway across the surface, Roy stepped on a small metal object . . . which exploded sending Roy too far away from the stage, causing him to explode once again, ending the fight.

"GAME!!!"

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Shadow sat next to his first opponent, Metaknight, who stared blankly towards the pod across the room. What could he be thinking? Shadow observed his foe more closely. He was simply a blue puffball with a little sword, cape, and a helmet. So why did Shadow feel so threatened?? Maybe it was his unusual calmness or his threatening appeal. But it didn't matter, Shadow wasn't going to let this insect get underneath his skin.

The insides of the pod began to glow as Falco suddenly appeared and emerged from it's inside. He looked over at Metaknight then to Shadow.

"Did you win??" Metaknight asked.

"Yeah. I guess you guys are next. I'm going to head back to the Entertainment Lounge." And with that, Falco left the room. As he did so, the other pod began to glow as Roy appeared. He wobbiled out bloodied and bruised. He stood there only for a moment, before passing out and falling facedown on the floor. Metaknight began to laugh as Shadow glanced at the red-haired boy, before looking away.

All of a sudden, Falco burst back into the Match Area making the next two contenders jump.

"You guys, come on!!! Something 's happened in the Main Lobby!" The three quickly left the room to go to the Main Lobby leaving Roy unconsious on the floor.

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Master Hand and his brother looked down at Ash's corpse which had been snapped completely in two by someone or something, separating his lower body from his upper body. His main organs littered the floor around him, creating an unimaginable odor of rotting meat, blood, and death. Falco had came in from the Match Area heading to the Entertainment Lounge (you have to go through the Main Lobby to get there) saw the body and ran back from where he had come, probably to get help. But no amount of help was going to save this boy.

At that moment, Shadow and Falco stormed into the room, followed by Metaknight who walked calmly behind them. All three walked over to where Master Hand and Crazy Hand were standing and looked down at the corpse, disgusted by the site and the smell.

"My God . . . what happened??" Shadow asked.

Master Hand stood there another moment, pale-faced, before running over to the nearest trash can to vomit. Crazy Hand didn't seem to be as disgusted as everyone else.

"Don't know. We just was walking through from our offices to the Entertainment Lounge and saw . . . this." Crazy Hand said pointing at the horrific mess.

"Who is this??" Metaknight asked.

"Ash Ketchum. One of Pikachu's friends that was staying here."

Master Hand walked back from the trash can, wiping his mouth with his shirt.

"Alright, no more matches for tonight, send the camera crew home." Master Hand said before turning towards his brother. "Get some Wire Frames in here to clean up this mess. Send for Dr. Mario to give us a proper analysis of what happened here. And I want our other two guests in my office . . . immediately." Master Hand walked upstairs towards his office. Crazy Hand walked away in a different direction to do as his brother had informed him, leaving the three with the remains of Ash Ketchum.

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Fox sat in his bed and watched as the annoucer for the Smasher's Ball told the viewers that the other match for tonight was cancelled.

"Why would they cancel that other match??" Fox thought to himself. But he didn't have much time to think as Dr. Mario walked into the room with his medication.

"Here you go, Fox. Take those pills and fluids to help yourself recover. I gotta leave now, Master Hand needs me to look at something for him, very urgent. I'll talk to ya later, Mr. McCloud." And with that Dr. Mario walked out Fox's room and out of the Hospital Wing all together.

Fox laid back in his bed flipping the t.v to B.E.T, his favorite channel in the Earth network. He took his medication and sat and watched a Wayans Bros. marathon until he fell asleep around 11:00.

-----------------------------------------------------------------3 hours later -------------------------------------------------------------

Fox awoke from his slumber caused by his medication. He looked around the room that had been changed considerably. The lights were no longer on and the t.v was on a channel that had no reception, causing it to have swiggly lines all over the screen.

"That's weird." Fox said aloud. He got up and walked over to the door to leave, but it was locked from the outside.

"What the hell??" Fox said, becoming agitated. As he began to curse every word he knew, the t.v got reception and it became all white. Fox walked back towards it to get a better look. When no picture came, he tried flipping the channel, but to no avail. Finally Fox gave up and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong . . . Fox?" Fox looked around before realizing the voice came from the t.v set.

"What the . . . "

"Fox . . . are you confused about what is going on. Allow me to fill you in." As the t.v spoke, a picture came showing a small aircraft flying over a small island, doing wheel barrels and other aerial manuevers.

"That's . . . my Arwing. But how . . ." He stopped when he realized what was about to happen. He closely examined the t.v, when a fireball came from the bottom right corner hitting the Arwing in the rear, sending it into a nosedive for the woods. As the Arwing crashed into the woods, the picture went all white again.

"Fox, what if I told you that the crash of your Arwing and the death of Ness was not accidental."

"I guess I'd believe you. Who or what are you?"

"That's not important at this time. What is important, is that you know that the one responsible for Ness' death, is responsible for Pikachu's death, as well."

"What!?!"

"You seem a bit confused, allow me to explain. There is a murderer in the Mansion. A psychopath bent on killing every other living being it can possibly lay waste to."

"So you're telling me that their's a killer, loose, in the Mansion?"

"Precisely."

"Who?!?" Fox demanded.

"I'm afraid you will find out, soon enough..." were the televison's last words before it turned it self completely off, darkening the room.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean: you'll find out soon enough?"

Fox got no reply.

"What the hell just happened? Am I going crazy or was the t.v really just talking to me?" He looked up at the screen which was still dark.

"So maybe there is a killer in the house. You know, I'd better go talk to Master Hand about this one."

He got up and tried the door again but it was still locked from the outside.

"Damnit."

He tried the light switch beside the door.

Nothing happened.

"Fuck this," he muttered to himself as he felt around underneath his mattress. He ran his hand along a small, metallic object. He had found what he was looking for.

He grabbed the glock, pulled it from underneath the mattress and aimed for the doorknob.

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